Scientists are on the lookout for the best lab-grown organ , with 3-D cellular scaffolding emerging as the technology to beat.
Minnesota-based Miromatrix Medical falls into this category, and though it’s been a while since we’ve heard something new from them, something might be brewing: Miromatrix seems to be moving slowly but surely toward a $20 million Series B round of equity funding, according to a slew of regulatory filings. It has raised about $7.6 million since last October in the round, the filings indicate.
The regenerative medicine company’s tech aims to allow “fully biological replacement organs” to be used in the human body. Its first product is a biological mesh for hernia repair that received FDA 510(k) clearance in March. Calls to the company about this recent funding round, and updated info on its product pipeline, have yet to be returned. In the meantime, here’s a dated (from 2012) graph of its pipeline:
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Miromatrix gives scientists a kind of framework to build organs. It uses cells to build up an outline, so they can fill in the gaps, or color within the lines, if you will, with a palette of cells. To clarify:
The company removes cells from organs and tissues, and uses them to build a scaffold or biological matrix that retains the shape and appearance of the source organs and tissues, though it looks much more opaque. The decellularization process looks like this:
But it keeps the original architecture, mechanical properties and vascular network of the source materials’ anatomical structure, the company said. This helps scientists to “recellularize” within Miromatrix’s structure, allowing for the growth of a new, functional organ.
Oh, if you’re interested, a brief history of Miromatrix is outlined in this MedCity News piece:
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You probably know Miromatrix as the University of Minnesota spinoff working to commercialize the renowned research of Dr. Doris Taylor, the director for University of Minnesota Center for Cardiovascular Repair. In a lab, Taylor drained the cellular material from the heart of a dead rat and refilled the extracellular matrix with cells from new born rats to create a beating animal heart.
Since Miromatrix licensed the technology from the university in 2010, the company ousted Taylor from the board, landed $500,000 in loans from the state and opened a $5 million fundraise.
Miromatrix CEO Robert Cohen told MedCity News at the time that the company, “had to be somewhat mum” because it was in the midst of a fundraising round. Looks like we’re at that point once more. Still, it’s a curious space to watch, and a curious company to follow.
